BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart Opens at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science on March 12, 2010
January 15, 2010
All-new BODY WORLDS exhibition reveals the intricacies of the cardiovascular system
(Denver – January 7, 2010) Four years after BODY WORLDS 2 brought record crowds to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, a new blockbuster exhibition, BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart,
will open to the public on March 12, 2010, with a special media preview
on March 11. Tickets for the general public go on sale February 1 at www.dmns.org.
BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart, an all-new
exhibition, will reveal—through the lenses of anatomy, cardiology,
psychology and culture—how the heart nourishes, regulates and sustains
life. The exhibition will give Museum visitors profound insight into
the human body, health and disease, and the intricate world of the
cardiovascular system. The exhibition will awe visitors with more than
200 human specimens, including whole-body plastinates, organs and
translucent body slices.
BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart puts human anatomy
in clear context. The exhibition is organized according to the major
systems of the body, including the locomotive, nervous, reproductive,
digestive and cardiovascular systems.
The striking whole-body plastinates in BODY WORLDS allow
visitors to see inside the staggeringly complex and interconnected
network of muscles, tendons and blood vessels that make up our bodies.
The specimens on display reach the public through the Institute for
Plastination body donation program: all of the donors agreed before
their deaths that their bodies could be displayed for public education
purposes. More than 10,000 individuals have bequeathed their bodies to
Dr. Gunther von Hagens’ Institute for Plastination in Heidelberg,
Germany.
More than 687,000 visitors came to see BODY WORLDS 2 at the
Museum during its 19-week run from March 10 to July 23, 2006, and the
Museum broke the daily attendance records of all previous North
American venues that hosted BODY WORLDS 2. Due to its
popularity, the exhibition remained open for 64 consecutive hours
during the final weekend in Denver, when nearly 30,000 people flocked
to see the exhibition before it closed.
“This is a remarkable new opportunity for our community,” said Dr.
Bridget Coughlin, the Museum’s vice president of strategic partnerships
and programs and curator of human health. “Visiting BODY WORLDS &
The Story of the Heart is a compelling experience that makes us
appreciate the complexity and beauty of the human body. Not only is the
exhibition awe-inspiring, it transforms us, increasing our
understanding of health issues and motivating us to make healthier life
choices. We anticipate tremendous interest in this exhibition. The
response when we exhibited BODY WORLDS 2 was overwhelmingly positive, and the exhibition appealed to a diverse audience.”
BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart will run from
March 12 to July 18, 2010. The exhibition will be open from 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. daily with extended hours from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursdays,
Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets for the general public go on sale
February 1 at dmns.org. General visitors pay $25.50 for adults, $16 for
children/students (age 3-18 or with a student ID) and $19 for seniors
(age 65+); this ticket price includes admission to both the Museum and
the BODY WORLDS exhibition. The exhibition will be
time-ticketed and advance reservations are strongly encouraged; the
Museum anticipates that popular times will sell out. For additional
information on pricing, including group rates and special extended
hours rates, visit dmns.org.
Museum members receive first access to BODY WORLDS tickets,
beginning January 7, and a discount of up to 52 percent on admission.
Tickets for members are $12 for adults, $8 for children/students and
$10 for seniors. For more information on membership, visit www.dmns.org/join.
About the Denver Museum of Nature & Science
The
Denver Museum of Nature & Science is the Rocky Mountain Region’s
leading resource for informal science education. A variety of engaging
exhibits, discussions and activities help Museum visitors celebrate and
understand the natural wonders of Colorado, Earth and the universe. The
Museum is located at 2001 Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO, 80205. To learn
more about the Museum, check www.dmns.org,
or call 303-322-7009. Many of the Museum’s educational programs and
exhibits are made possible in part by generous funding from the
citizens of the seven-county metro area through the Scientific &
Cultural Facilities District.
About Gunther von Hagens' BODY WORLDS
Dr. Gunther von Hagens invented Plastination in 1977, in an effort to improve the education of medical students. He created the BODY WORLDS exhibitions to bring anatomy to the public. Since 1995, 30 million people in Asia, Europe and North America have visited the BODY WORLDS exhibitions.
The organs and whole-body plastinates were derived from generous
body donors, individuals who designated that upon their death their
bodies could be used for educational purposes in the BODY WORLDS
exhibitions. More than 10,000 donors have bequeathed their bodies to
Dr. von Hagens’ Institute for Plastination in Heidelberg, Germany,
including 1,000 Americans. As of January 2010 there are forty-three
donors from Colorado. For more information on BODY WORLDS, please visit www.bodyworlds.com
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For more information, please contact
Heather Hope, APR
Public Relations Manager
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
303-370-8372
heather.hope@dmns.org